The Man With the Child in His Eyes
by raven-flighton
Summary: Christine's oldest daughter is sick to death of her father getting on her case so she runs away to the opera house. However a certain phantom sees her mother's resemblance. Includes a Kate Bush song. T to be safe.


Standing on the makeshift stage in the lounge, Marie waited for her siblings to draw the curtains open. The De Chagny children often put on little concerts for their parents and now it was time for Marie's solo. Raoul and Christine had six children:

Charles Eric De Chagny

Marie Christina De Chagny

Louisa Megan De Chagny

Joseph Raoul De Chagny

Wendolin Charlotte De Chagny

Elizabeth Alexandria De Chagny

Giggles echoed from the audience as Elizabeth pulled back the curtain. Sat in armchairs in front of the stage, Raoul and Christine grinned up at Marie as their other children sat on the floor around them. In the corner, Charles played a short introduction on the piano and then Marie began "_Pie Jesu, Pie Jesu,_" she saw her mother smile "_Pie Jesu, Pie Jesu  
>Qui tollis peccata mundi,<em>" Raoul reached across to take his wife's hand, winking at his daughter "_Dona eis requiem,  
>Dona eis requiem.<br>Pie Jesu, Pie Jesu  
>Pie Jesu, Pie Jesu<br>Qui tollis peccata mundi,  
>Dona eis requiem,<br>Dona eis requiem.  
>Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei<br>Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei  
>Qui tollis peccata mundi,<br>Dona eis requiem,  
>Dona eis requiem.<br>Sempiternam, sempiternam requiem_."

The little family broke out into applause and the rest of the children rushed onto stage for the grand finale. Charles spun Marie under his arm as they all sung "_Masquerade!  
>Paper faces on parade.<br>Masquerade!_"

"_Hide your face, so the world will never find you!_" Wendolin and Elizabeth sung together.

Then they all were singing together again "_Masquerade!  
>Every face a different shade.<br>Masquerade!_"

"_Look around -  
>there's another<br>mask behind you!_" Joseph and Louisa sang with show business grins and only Marie seemed to notice that the smiles were beginning to fade from her parents' faces.

Winking, Marie leant out from behind Charles "_Flash of mauve._"

"_Splash of puce,_" Charles lifted Marie up to hide his face.

With a perfect cartwheel, Wendolin added in "_Fool and king._"

"_Ghoul and goose,_" Elizabeth pirouetted to the corner of the stage.

Joseph lifted Elizabeth off the edge with a "_Green and black._"

"_Queen and priest,_" Louisa rushed to centre stage.

Serenely, Marie smiled "_Trace of rouge._"_  
><em>"_Face of beast,_" grimacing deliberately, Charles scared Elizabeth and Wendolin.

They all turned to sing "_Faces._"

Just as they were about to move onto the next verse, Raoul stood up to cry "Stop! Stop!"

"Raoul, please don't," Christine tugged at his arm.

All of them stopped to stare dejectedly at their parents. Raoul looked positively fuming "Where did you learn that song?"

"We found the sheet music in the library," Elizabeth replied meekly, hiding behind Charles.

Shaking his head, their father leant down to shout at his youngest daughter "Why can't you ever leave things alone?"

The rage that seemed so familiar to Marie built up inside her "Leave Eliza alone! This isn't her fault!"

"Don't cry sissy," Charles swept the five year old into his arms, cooing affectionately, as the tears began to stream down Elizabeth's face.

Irritably, Raoul ignored the children, turning to his wife "You kept it! For god's sake Christine can't you just leave the past to die?"

"So what if Mama wanted to keep some old sheet music? All any of us have ever wanted to do is sing!" Marie cried "Is that a crime now?"

Turning to his eldest daughter, Raoul told her sternly "Yes because you are a noblewoman, not an _actress_."

"Don't say that like it's a curse word!" Marie shouted back "Stop treating us like we're your slaves! I am not a child any more, you cannot tell me what to do!"

"I am your father and you will listen to me!"

Desperation creeping into her voice, Christine cried out "Stop it! Please stop it!"

"Gladly!" with that, Marie marched from the room and ran up to her bedroom. As soon as she was there she began to pack, dresses, sheet music and such.

Around half an hour later, Charles appeared at her bedroom door "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" she retorted, taking her case in one hand and a large pink bag in the other.

Her elder brother grabbed her arm "Don't run away, please Marie."

"You're not going to convince me, Charles," Marie replied "But, do me a favour, don't tell them I've gone until tomorrow."

Anxiously, he pulled her into an embrace "Oh sissy."

"I'm taking the horse as far as the city gates, at Paris, but I won't tell you were I'm going after that," she sighed, walking away from him and down the corridor "I want to get settled before they find me."

With a sad smile, Charles waved her goodbye as she headed for the stables.

"Just hear her out Andre," Meg Giry begged.

Rolling his eyes, the manager gave a slight wave of his hand "Fine, fine, send her in."

Marie wandered into the office and gave her best show business smile "It's lovely to meet you sir."

"I say you don't half look like Christine Daae," Andre said, raising an eyebrow at the sixteen year old.

With a nod, she glanced at Meg "I'm her daughter, trained in Ballet, acting and singing."

"Are you really?" he chuckled "And Meg's willing to let you into her chorus is she?"

Quietly, Meg replied "Yes sir."

"Fine, then," Andre sighed and Marie was in.

Unpacking her bags, Marie settled herself down in the ballet girls' dormitory before the girls came back from rehearsals. She couldn't help feeling rather lonely sat on the plain little bed. There was also a nagging feeling deep inside that everyone would know more about her parents' past than she did, after all, they'd never told her anything.

Meg marched the ballet girls in and all of them froze at the sight of Marie. With a relaxed smile, the ballet mistress gestured to Marie "This is Marie De Chagny, she's new so I expect you all to look after her, understood?"

"Yes Meg," they all replied as she walked away. For a while they all lingered in the doorway, watching Marie as though she had a contagious disease but then they spread out along the dormitory, gossiping in hushed tones. Marie had never been particularly good at making friends, all her friends had been made for her by her parents. So she sat there, feeling like a spare part, until she finally decided to go exploring. Wordlessly she got to her feet and left the dormitory for the intricate corridors of the opera house.

After a while, she found her way to the chapel and sat down in its safe confines. A tear rolled down her face but she wiped it away and took a deep breath, disregarding her weakness.

"Christine?"

Marie spun to see a masked man standing in the doorway of the chapel "Who are you?"

"Christine? Is it you? Can it be?" he whispered, reaching out to her slightly.

Flinching away, she shook her head "No, I'm Marie, not Christine."

Slowly, he brought his brown eyes up to meet her's "So like my Christine."

"Who are you?" Marie asked again, taking a step towards him.

He swallowed, taking a step towards her "The angel of music, my dear, or the opera ghost or Erik, if you like?"

"Yes, Erik, much less formal," she nodded curtly, making him chuckle. Innocently, she pouted "What?"

With a slight shrug, Erik sighed "You show a remarkable courage for a girl of your age."

"Erm, thank you," Marie frowned "So what do you do here?"

Eyes wandering to the ground, he offered his hands "Come, let us sit and talk, shall we?" So they did, talked for hours about Marie's family, though she generally avoided names. Her new friend was strangely fascinating and it felt like they had known each other all their lives. Eventually though, he stood, helping her to her feet "Come, you must return to your dormitory, before you're missed."

"No-one will notice," Marie replied a frown taking over her features "They all look at me like I'm some sort of freak! I thought I'd love it here but I hate it. I have no-where else to go, I can't go home."

For a few moments, Erik stood and stared at her, then he sighed "You could come into the vaults, below the theatre, I'd look after you and you'd be safe."

"Live with you?" she cocked her head to one side but then smiled "I like the sound of that." They gathered her things from the dormitory, unnoticed by the sleeping ballet girls, before Erik led her through the secret passageways and into the vaults.

"Erik!" she danced from rock to rock, keeping out of the water as she made her way over to him "I can't believe you didn't tell me that Mr Rochester had a mad wife in his attic!"

Chuckling, he leant down to lift her up next to him "Well I didn't want to ruin the story for you."

"And now Jane's run away," Marie put a hand on her hip and played a faint tune on the organ with the other "Ooh, I could hit her, she's broken his heart and all she sees is her own righteousness." The two of them had been living together for two months, best friends. She knew about his lost love and that everyone thought he was dead, though she hadn't made the connection between her mother and his Christine. He knew about her troubled family but she had never given him her parents' names, they were just Mama and Papa. There were no secrets between them, she had even seen behind his mask and it didn't bother her one bit. They spent their time reading, making music or simply talking to each other. Still though, she wanted more than the friendship they had, he had always been so careful not to overstep the mark and she knew that was Christine's doing, but Marie could feel herself falling deeper in love with him with every passing day. When would he understand that she was not Christine. She would never jilt him like she had, for god's sake, she loved him but he was too scared of loosing her to ever love her back.

Raising an eyebrow, he countered her "You think Jane was wrong to run away?"

"Yes," Marie glanced up at him "If she truly loved him she would stay."

The playful smile faded from Erik's face "Perhaps so, you must finish the book to make a proper judgement though."

"I'm tired of reading," she sighed, dancing away from him.

With a smirk, he followed her "And what do you want to do now?"

"I want to sing," she grinned but stopped him as he made his way to the organ "A song I wrote."

Stunned, he stepped back and she found herself a stage, singing acappella "I_ hear him, before I go to sleep  
><em>_And focus on the day that's been,_" she had written the song for him, of course she had, she just hoped he realised that "_I realise he's there,  
><em>_When I turn the light off and turn over._" Looking right at Erik, she shook her head "_Nobody knows about my man.  
>They think he's lost on some horizon,<em>" she took a step towards him "_And suddenly I find myself  
>Listening to a man I've never known before,<br>Telling me about the sea,  
>All his love, til eternity.<em>" Marie tipped into a pirouette, spinning as she let here voice take on something unearthly "_Ooh, he's here again,  
>The man with the child in his eyes.<br>Ooh, he's here again,  
>The man with the child in his eyes.<em>"

Erik's breath hitched as he realised what she was singing of, keeping her focus, Marie continued "_He's very understanding,  
>And he's so aware of all my situations,<em>" she reached out slightly and he took her hand, rubbing his thumb over it comfortingly "_And when I stay up late,  
>He's always waiting, but I feel him hesitate.<br>Oh, I'm so worried about my love,_" he pulled her closer slightly as she sang "_They say, no, no, it wont last forever..._"

This time Erik sung, she didn't know how he knew the lyrics but she'd long accepted that he had a magic past the abilities of mortal men "_And here I am again, my girl,  
>Wondering what on earth I'm doing here.<em>"

"_Maybe he doesn't love me,_" Marie sung again, watching him shake his head slightly "_I just took a trip on my love for him.  
>Ooh, he's here again,<br>The man with the child in his eyes.  
>Ooh, he's here again,<br>The man with the child in his eyes_." The song finished and Erik searched Marie's eyes for a few minutes before leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. Immediately, the electricity coursed through Marie and she kissed back eagerly. Pulling her onto his lap, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

Suddenly, though, he pulled away "No, this is wrong, even if I wasn't the monster that I am, I'm three times your age."

"Erik, I don't believe that you've aged a day since your early thirties, you're immortal," she shrugged "And if the age difference doesn't bother me, then why should it bother you?"

Swallowing, he sighed "Because I don't want you to do anything you'll regret."

"I love you," she whispered, taking off his mask and making him flinch "I love that, you understand me and that I can see something in your eyes that is so different to anyone else I've ever seen. I love that I can trust you so completely. I love that you've known me for two months and already you know more about me than anyone else. I love..." she traced one of the many gashes, that marred his face, with her index finger "This scar right here and that one and that one and that one. I love absolutely everything about you, even the things you hate about yourself."

Sorrow in his brown eyes, Erik whispered "I've killed people Marie."

"That's the past," she brushed his comment aside "We both need to stop dwelling in the past so let's put all of that behind us."

He shook his head "You are extraordinary, you know that?"

"You're more extraordinary," Marie smiled, leaning in, once again, to kiss him.

Sat opposite each other, they read exerts of Shakespeare to one another, Erik could do an utterly hilarious Macbeth while Marie's Juliet was heart-warming. Just as they finished the balcony scene, from Romeo and Juliet, the sound of footsteps made them both freeze. Already in his arms, Marie whispered "Erik, what was that?"

"Sh," he pulled her back and into a hiding place behind the organ were they curled up in each other's arms and waited.

"Oh Raoul, it's just as I remember it," Christine's voice echoed around the vault.

"Hm," Raoul's voice came in reply "Minus our clever friend."

Erik's hold on Marie grew tighter as he whispered "Christine."

"That's my parents Erik," she whispered back, blue eyes shimmering with tears.

As the realisation hit him, he looked down at Marie "Marie... De Chagny?"

"Yes?" she breathed back "How did you... oh no, my Mama, is your Christine."

The lonely voice of Christine rang out again "Angel? Are you here?"

"Marie?" Raoul cried.

Without a second thought, Marie pulled out of Erik's arms, burst from her hiding place and cried "I'm here Papa."

"Marie!" Erik chased her out, stopping a couple of paces behind her.

As soon as he spotted Erik, Raoul spat "I should have known, it's always you isn't it?"

"The feeling's mutual I assure you," Erik retorted, letting his eyes drifted to Christine "Christine."

Eyes wide, she reached a hand towards him "Angel."

"Stop it," Raoul pulled Christine into his arms "She chose, remember."

Glancing at Raoul, Erik smirked "I'm not doing anything."

"Come, Marie, we'll take you home," Christine smiled weakly, reaching out to her eldest daughter.

Marie backed up, into Erik's arms "I'm not going anywhere Mama."

"Oh god," Christine breathed, her hand flying to her face.

As he drew his wife into his arms, Raoul scolded Marie "Stop being silly Marie, you're scaring your mother."

"I'm not being silly Papa," Marie looked up at Erik, waving her left hand for her parents to see "We're married, as of last month, so you can't take me away, I'm his."

With a sigh, Erik wrapped her into his embrace and glanced up at her parents "No tricks, no foul play, just love, I swear it and I will take care of her, I promise."

"Come, Christine," Raoul led his wife up the stairs but then Christine turned and rushed back to the couple.

Leaning as close as possible, Christine whispered "You have more courage than I ever had, child." Then, wordlessly, she kissed them both on the cheek and rushed off after her husband.


End file.
